Been talking with a few other people and we have some ideas to improve the ranger class. Please don't bash rangers on this thread, if you don't like the ideas just point out why and we'll see if we can have another idea.

First: Melee combat, Ranger's are supposed to be masters of melee combat, but their 1h melee skills in everything but slashing caps at 90 max.

Second: Bash, bash is a nice ability, but it caps low and has heavy preference to a shield which rangers nearly never use. Rangers are a lot more stealthy than the basic warrior and having trip instead of bash would make perfect sense. Perhaps another option in this regard would be to reduce the need for a shield while bashing and also improve the cap on the bash skill for a ranger.

Third: Entering combat, Rangers enter combat with assist or afire, they don't get any bonus damage for these abilities, perhaps a sniperlike shot or a specific melee attack for opening combat would be warranted. I would say damage similar to a single backstab, not perhaps the same.

Fourth: In combat abilities, kick... is the worst in combat skill, give rangers something else to do, it's boring enough to afire/assist and then wait for combat to be over. Give rangers an improved damage ability or I may suggest a bleed-type damage ability, perhaps a way to create a terrible gash that causes additional damage every round of combat but you could only have 1 per ranger up on a single mob. Another idea for this is to make kick more reliable and do considerably more damage, but I like the idea of a bleed ability.

These are just my thoughts for improving the ranger class. More ideas would be welcome!

I always liked the Called Shots on EW for entering combat. Different called shots became available as you leveled up, and each shot had a different potential effect, i.e. head shot stunned, eye shot blinded, heart shot did triple damage, leg shot reduced mobs movement points, arm shot disarmed weapon, etc. The called shots took a bit longer to get off, kind of like casting a spell.

Zukal wrote:Second: Bash, bash is a nice ability, but it caps low and has heavy preference to a shield which rangers nearly never use. Rangers are a lot more stealthy than the basic warrior and having trip instead of bash would make perfect sense. Perhaps another option in this regard would be to reduce the need for a shield while bashing and also improve the cap on the bash skill for a ranger.

I like the idea of Warriors and Anti/Paladins having bash, as it relates to shield use or big 2-handed weapon use. I wouldn't go changing bash around...but, more later on that.

Zukal wrote:Third: Entering combat, Rangers enter combat with assist or afire, they don't get any bonus damage for these abilities, perhaps a sniperlike shot or a specific melee attack for opening combat would be warranted. I would say damage similar to a single backstab, not perhaps the same.

Very nice idea Zuk. Three suggestions:

surprise (average) (48) (can't practice)

#1 Utilize it.

#2 Give Rangers their damn racial hatred bonuses.

#3 Make 101 strength on humans actually give the damn +1 damage we should get. We get int bonus, wis bonus, cha bonus, dex bonus, agi bonus, con bonus at 101. And not just a "oh cool I can search better" bonus, but a real fucking bonus like memtime change, hps, etc. Same shit should apply to strength. Period.

Zukal wrote:Fourth: In combat abilities, kick... is the worst in combat skill, give rangers something else to do, it's boring enough to afire/assist and then wait for combat to be over. Give rangers an improved damage ability

Again, very well said. Wtf is the point of kick? It is completely useless. Either give it more damage, or make KICK be more like bash/trip. I don't like the idea of Rangers tripping their foes. It seems cowardly and Rogue-ish. Nor do I like bash either, as it seems too thug Warrior-ish. But what if kick were to be a good in-the-middle between bash and trip? The ability to damage an opponent but also a chance to send them to the ground. Having said that, remove kick from Warriors and Anti/Paladins. Headbutt/charge ftw.

Zukal wrote:or I may suggest a bleed-type damage ability, perhaps a way to create a terrible gash that causes additional damage every round of combat but you could only have 1 per ranger up on a single mob. Another idea for this is to make kick more reliable and do considerably more damage, but I like the idea of a bleed ability.

I don't like the idea of us making people bleed to death, might just be me. Seems to evil-ish for my tastes.

A couple of other points:

Rangers in ADND got followers at level 10 I think. Why not give Rangers ONE follower at level 50? A random mob like the shaman totem quest, and mob assists Rangers in combat, or is a good mount, or casts, or whatever. Up to you guys.

Why does it seem Rogues hit more often than Rangers do? I'm not talking extra attacks, I'm talking consistently hitting more than Rangers. I'm talking Rogues hitting 4-5 a round and I'm seeing me hitting 1-3 a round with both of us at 31 hitroll. I noticed whenever a bard was singing haste that I would still be getting 1-2 attacks on rounds when I had 42 hitroll (and the mobs weren't dragons). That too me just smells fishy.

Does 90 1h blud vs 99 1h pierce really matter that much? Or is it some internal THAC0 thingie between the classes?

Why does Ranger dodge max at 60 and Rogue dodge max at 99 (like tanks...)? I think Rogues SHOULD have a high dodge, even higher than a Ranger's, mind you. But 99? dunno...

Maybe the reasons behind Zukal's post, and the posts going way back, have also to do with Rogues and melee and not just Rangers. Just a thought...

< 866h/881H 145v/147V P: std > Anya's mount charges the first officer and knocks him off balance!The first officer is stunned!As a zealous griffon charges into the first officer, her talons sinkinto her prey's body. As the claws dig into the first officer,a zealous griffon emits a shrill and primal shriek!

Rangers are the most boring class in a game where the owner is a ranger god. afire and forget (that you're even playing) is not engaging, challenging, or even remotely fun.

- Make all offensive spells instant cast for use between rounds and reduce pray times substantially. Buff call lightning damage as well.- This isn't really feasible until the powers framework goes in, but give rangers 3 special shots while using a bow. One that does pure damage, one that blinds and/or slows, and one that hits multiple targets. Maybe make it like bash where the cooldown is longer than the lag.- Springleap over bash- Improve Kick damage, add chance to stun/knockdown like a weaker headbutt. A cool DoT/Bleed ability could be neat if rangers had to make sure and keep it up to max their damage.

Edit: I tried to think up easy fixes/changes that don't involve completely revamping the class.